Bloodwork

Regular blood work (annual) is important for most people but it is particularly important for weight loss surgery patients. Your blood work can be an early indicator of problems.

I got my 9 month results today. Two main issues have been highlighted

1. I am anemic. We knew that in May and since then my iron levels have come up slightly but my hemoglobin, hamatocrit, iron saturation and red blood counts are all too low. All are indicators of anemia. We will continue with the iron supplementation and I will work to increase the iron I am consuming in food.

2. My protein is low. I have dropped below the minimum range of 60 - 82 G/L. I am currently sitting at 58. This is of greater concern to me than the anemia. If your body is not finding enough protein it will turn to your muscle mass to satisfy it's needs. Solution? Up my protein intake. It has been suggested I try to get up as high as 150 grams per day. Exercise. I need to build muscle mass so weight and/or resistance training is going to be part of my reality moving forward.

The good news out of the labs is that my Cholesterol remains amazing and my vitamin D has doubled. Amazing what a little sunshine will do. It'll be interesting to see how my levels are impacted by these shortened sunlight hours in the great white north.

As much as I have such difficulty fasting for 12 hours to get my labs done, I am so grateful of the early warning system we have in place. I will go every three months just to keep an eye on how things are progressing.

For newbies and preops alike, don't ever discount the need for blood work. Diligence can literally save your life.